


[WIPs] The VLD Creation Folder

by pinstripedJackalope



Series: Creation Folders [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Outlines, Work In Progress, outline, wips
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:41:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 8,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26999101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinstripedJackalope/pseuds/pinstripedJackalope
Summary: This is a collection of fic ideas and WIPs that I don't think I'll ever get to. I'm posting them to see if they inspire anyone else. The first chapter is a breakdown of how this will work, so check that out if you're interested!
Series: Creation Folders [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1971892
Kudos: 1
Collections: Good Intentions: Abandoned and Unfinished WIPs





	1. Introductions and Instructions

I'm K, and this fic, called the VLD Creation Folder, is a dump of Voltron: Legendary Defender WIPs that I don't think I'm ever going to write. More will be added if I think of any. If I do happen to write one, I will take down the corresponding chapter in the Creation Folder. 

These are going up so that people can take inspiration from them (or just see how my mind works, either one). If you're not interested, no problem--just click on past. If you ARE interested, this chapter (chapter one) is a breakdown of the WIPs and how to view/use them.

Ready? Here we go!

Every chapter from chapter 2 on out is going to be a separate idea/outline/draft. A lot of them are very rough, so apologies for that. The title of each chapter is what I have the WIP saved as in my folders. The specific series (if applicable) will be specified in the author's notes before the body text, as well as warnings, if any apply. The body of the chapter will be broken down as necessary into the following categories:

  1. Idea (what the WIP is)
  2. Notes (notes about the idea)
  3. Outline (any outlines I have written down)
  4. Draft (any prose I've written so far)



Outlines may be bullet lists, paragraphs, or *denoted like this*. If you see an asterisk (*) in a draft, it means I wanted to add something there but hadn't gotten around to it yet. Example: "he walked over and *."

If an idea strikes your fancy, you are FREE TO STEAL IT. I just ask that you gift the fic to me (I can explain how to do this if you don't know how) and use the 'inspired by' feature linking back to the Creation Folder (again, I can explain if necessary).

Hope someone finds something they can use in this mess!

Cheers,

K

[WARNING: There will be several controversial ships in this folder. If they're not your thing, please move on.]


	2. Shieth + Kuro/n Soulmate Shenanigans

Idea:

Soulmate AU with sheith (can be platonic or not doesn’t matter) where their scars show up on each other. 

Notes:

Option one:

shiro goes missing after the fight with zarkon, and they get him ‘back’ but keith realizes that something is very wrong when he gets a scar and it _doesn_ _’t show up on shiro_

_like hot damn??? imagine the angst???_

and also you can have some philosophy about what makes a person a person because they could replicate shiro down to his very MOLECULE but he still wasn’t whole, he was still missing an essential piece somewhere in the middle 

how human is a human clone if it doesn’t have a soulbond?

Option two:

alternatively–THE CLONE HAS THE SOULBOND. so keith and the clone are sharing scars, but keith is also getting scars from REAL shiro and he doesn’t know how he has more soulmarks than his soulmate has scars until he pieces together that the second bond is there

_how human is a clone that DOES have a soulbond?_


	3. Heith Soulmates AU

Idea:

heith soulmate au where soulmates have matching tats of how they first meet.

Notes:

5) Matching Tats: each pair of soulmates has a tattoo unique to them/their relationship that both parties have somewhere on their body. 

6) Info Tats: the general idea of having some scrap of information about your soulmate inked onto your body. In this case, the info is about their first meeting.

keith has a tat of a slice of pizza

like, it’s a BEAUTIFUL tat, probably styled after stained glass or art nouveau maybe, but it’s still undeniably a slice of pizza and he’s just like Wat the Fuk

then one day his beautiful asshole of a brother drags him out of the house to a fancy art opening downtown and the caterer has these AWESOME little mini-pizzas and keith is stuffing his face with them, wandering around barely glancing at the fancy art on the walls, when he locks eyes on a fucking angel

turns out the caterer is his soulmate with the matching pizza tat and his jaw just drops because WAT the FUK kind of soulmeeting is this?? and how can he find a way to eat as many of those snacks as possible without also embarrassing himself???? and come on, shiro, stop laughing for fucks sake it’s not that funny–well, maybe the part where he accidentally knocks a tray of pizza out of the guys’s angelic muscular arms and they knock heads bending down to clean up _is_ that funny, but shiro is still not allowed to laugh

what the hell keith just really wants this guy’s number

…bonus points if the tat is on the back of keith’s neck and hunk’s tat is on his sternum and when hunk hugs him from behind n puts his chin on top of keith’s head they line up perfectly


	4. Pre-Kerberos Galra Takeover

Idea: 

The galra reach earth before Shiro leaves for Kerberos. 

Notes:

Kind of a set-up to throw all the humans from the show together and blast them off into space in the blue lion. I think I wrote this before I learned about Adam so it can also include him if you want to go a Shadam route.

Outline:

*at the beginning, before shit goes down*keith hearing blue out in the desert*trying to convince shiro to go out following the sound*the feeling*

*shiro telling him to lead the way*and he leads them straight out toward blue*no pause, no deviations*until shiro has to stop him so they’ll still have enough fuel to get back*

*keith frowning all evening, unhappy*he wants to get out there*shiro making a compromise—next time they’ll bring more fuel, and see where it’ll get them*

*they make it to the caverns*with the carvings*in awe of them together*talking about what they might be*

*

*before they can figure out the call or the carvings, the galra arrive*

*

*it's just before the kerberos mission is set to leave*the galra (sendak, mostly) know the blue lion is somewhere on earth but blue is well hidden*they can’t find her*so they take over and start to dig*they know she’s in the desert somewhere so they enslave the people there (garrison) for interrogation and turn the rest of the planet into food production for the galra*using devices to change the weather biomes to be most productive*melting the icecaps as they go*and flooding low-level cities*

*

*the three garrison paladins, keith hunk and lance, are trapped together*matt shiro and sam are together*and katie and colleen are together*

*katie is developing a way to break into the main prison compound, where all garrison personnel are trapped*

*

*meanwhile: matt, sam, and shiro are under interrogation*the interrogation team (druids) have already been through the cadets, leaving them worse for wear*they’re on cue to be shipped out to the plantations*keith, with his sensitivity to quintessence and energy, is sick as hell*hunk realizes this and tries to stick with him*

*lance and hunk wandering around the mass cell looking for veronica*hunk hanging off of lance who is leading the way, being obnoxious as he looks at everyone’s faces*

Hunk: “Are you sure she’s here?”

Lance: “I heard her laugh! We just have to find her!”

*and then there’s keith*

“Ugh, Mullet’s here. Come on, let’s go this way.”

*lance trying to lead hunk away from keith*who is standing alone by the entranceway*hunk pausing to watch him*

“Hey… Lance?”

*lance surveying the people*standing on tip toes* “What?”

“I hate to be that person because you obviously have a thing with Keith and I don’t want to like, rub it in your face or anything but—”

“Hunk, spit it out.”

“He doesn’t look good.”

“And? No one here looks good! We look like we’re in prison, which we _are_!”

“Well yeah, but no one else looks _sick_.”

*lance swiveling on one foot to squint obnoxiously at keith*who does look sick*he’s leaning on the wall with his hands on his knees, head hanging between his shoulders*

“What do you want me to do about it, go over there and hold his stupid hair back while he vomits up lunch? No way, jose!”

“…Yeah, you’re right. It’s probably super contagious anyway. How fast do you think germs are going to pass around in close quarters like this? Especially with all the stress? Because let me tell you, I’m already feeling HELLA stressed out and it hasn’t even been, like, a day. I couldn’t imagine being sick on top of—”

*lance groaning*then marching off to keith* “Oi! Mullet!”

*

*katie manages to break into the upper prison blocks to save her family and shiro*iverson tags along*but shiro won’t leave without keith*so they go to rescue the cadets*

*keith is sitting with hunk, his head in a bucket, when the others arrive to jailbreak*the cadets are meant to be part of the last shipment to the plantations*it’s the voltron paladins plus the MFE pilots*james and lance both eyeing each other up*

Veronica: “Wait, I thought you liked James?”

“It was funny for a hot second when he was putting Keith in his place, but Keith is _my_ rival. James has nothing to do with it and he needs to back off—”

“Okay, forget I asked.”

*the MFE pilots tagging along*and veronica*

Shiro: “Okay, everyone out! Keep low and keep quiet, let’s go!”

*half carrying keith from the room*

*

*keith takes them off garrison grounds and to his dad’s shack in the desert*where they start looking for the blue lion on their own*back out at the caverns*dodging galra patrols*

*and they get it*and they all get shot into space*

Draft:

The day the Galra arrive on Earth, Shiro is doing a guided simulator run on the Kerberos sim with the older cadets. It’s his last official teaching moment before he’s set to switch solely to his pilot role, two weeks advance of the Kerberos mission.

Keith is waiting for him just outside the sim room. The plan is to *.

That, of course, is when the EMP bomb goes off and the entire compound shuts down. The simulators die mid-arc, sinking back down on their bearings. * The holoscreen that opens in the sky above advertises a countdown to transmission—every human eye is drawn to the windows, watching with bated breath. Five, four, three, two… their first contact with alien life begins on one, and it’s none too kind. It is, in fact, an ultimatum: give them the Blue Lion, or else.

*


	5. Quintessence Zombie Druid Keith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW death and decay, sort of.

Idea: 

Basically running with the idea that in order to become a druid like Haggar you have to die first and be reanimated by the quintessence, like Honerva/Haggar did. Keith, a half-galra, is selected to become a druid in this way.

Notes:

keith is a galra who is selected to complete the zombification process required to serve as a full-fledged druid under haggar. he does not think he’ll ever love again, not after death–but then comes along a paladin of voltron who he just can’t kill, no matter how hard he tries

the paladin in question hates the druids with a burning passion, but during one battle keith loses his mask and they realize just how young keith was when he died. from that moment on, they are DETERMINED to bring life back to him. with help, they manage to kidnap and contain him, on the pretense that voltron needs to learn more about the power of druids and how to defeat them

from then on, the fic is them teaching him how to EXIST again. how to cry, how to bleed, how to hold his body together when all it wants to do is dissolve into black smoke and nothingness. until finally, he realizes that he didn’t want his life to end–he wants to live again. he would do anything to touch the paladin and feel their warmth under his fingers.

he would do _anything_

honestly with the right interpretation of allura this could be SO GOOD as a kallura fic. because at the same time as he's healing so would she. though honestly someone else would probably have to bring him back to the ship. or! oh god i just had a good idea. if he was a Blade who was caught, and brainwashed, and zombified. and the Blades recaptured him but found that they couldn't help him so they offered him to voltron with the request that voltron find a way to help him. or to kill him for good if they could not. and allura was always kind of planning to just put him out of his misery... but. BUT. she accidentally fell in love along the way 


	6. Keith Sickfic + Krolia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW vomit.

Idea:

Keith gets sick on the spaceship before they run into the Quantum Abyss. An excuse to get Krolia to take care of Keith just after they first meet, honestly. 

Outline/Draft:

*they’re on their way back to the blades after the reveal*and get caught in a meteor shower—navigation is down for the night*krolia has one pouch of rations*she is insistent that keith takes it*

*an hour or two later keith is acting weird*

*she barely noticed at first*he was quiet and she just assumed that he was processing*because so was she*if he was anything like her, and she guessed he was just by the few hours she’d… well, really known him, then he was quiet when he had things on his mind*she let him distance himself a bit*

*until she looked up after trying to adjust the sensors again and he was gone*

*well, not gone*in the little area sectioned off for whatever erroneous needs you had*you know, like prisoner transport or quarantine or what not*

*which is a little concerning*

“Keith. Are you okay?”

*shuffling*a moan*

“I feel sick.”

*her mind is going a mile a minute suddenly*she was on earth for quite a few long years, nearly ten, but she never did get a handle on how humans get sick*she didn’t think her rations would hurt him but maybe they were old enough to be going off*that’s concerning but they’ll be at the base soon*

*unless it was intentional*unless someone at her previous station found her out and laid a trap for her*and she just gave it to her kid*

*her mind whirls, so she nearly misses his voice*

“…Did you do this on purpose?”

*what*how can he think that?*and how can he be so resigned to the fact--?*

*except, she guesses it makes sense*he has no measure of her*he’s trying to come at this from a logical angle using what she’s given him*which is nothing but a few orders, some sharp looks, one knife, some genetics, a promise not to leave again (empty until proven otherwise), and a meal that’s made him sick*

“…I did not know this would happen. I’m sorry.”

*he takes a long time to respond*

“I believe you. Might not even be the food. It’s fine, I’m just… we can’t let this spread and incapacitate us both. I’ll tough it out, go back to the cockpit.”

*she does not go*she sits silently outside the door, ears perked for sensor alerts and transmissions*folding her knees to her chest like a little kit*after a moment, she hears his back hit the door, sliding down it*

*she contemplates his stalwart dedication to the blades*he hasn’t been with them a year, even*how he can do it all so easily when he’s basically a kit she doesn’t know*he was supposed to be so very far away from all of this*she left him on earth for a reason*though if he learned this from his father…*

*everything is silent for a long while*until she hears him scramble*she lifts her head, listening—she can only guess that he’s trying to get at the trash receptacle at the back of the little closet*she’s proven right a moment later when she hears retching*

“Are you all right?” she asks, when the noises quiet down.

“Fine. I thought you went to navigate.”

“I said I was never going to leave you again. Did I imagine those words coming out of my mouth?”

“Oh, so we’re joking about my childhood emotional trauma now?”

*wince*that bites deep*he obviously is still on the edge about her*it is only fair*and she guesses humor might not have been the correct response here*she clicks back into seriousness*

“What are your symptoms?”

*he doesn’t answer her*

“You must let me in if it gets worse.”

*he scoffs a little*everything is quiet again*the sound of vomiting comes in waves—after the fourth wave she tries again*

“Keith.”

“Krolia.”

*god, he sounds just like his father when he uses that tone*

“I cannot help you if you do not tell me what your symptoms are.”

Finally. “Stomach cramps. Shakes. Sweating. Nausea, vomiting, maybe fever.”

*she’s got nothing much that can help with that list* “How do you determine a fever?”

“A thermometer. Maybe you could tell with skin to skin contact, but I don’t know what a normal Galra body temp is and I doubt that you know anything about humans.”

*she snorts* “70 standard units. Though you ran hot, even as a kit. Galra are usually closer to 75, but you were about 72.”

*he makes a small noise* “It might be good to know.”

“So will you let me in?”

“Blade protocol is to quarantine sick operatives—”

“I understand the protocol, Keith.”

*a long pause*and then, finally, she hears the lock disengage*

*he’s sitting by the back wall, legs crossed and head resting in one hand*in the other rests his knife* …her knife*he’s not holding it threateningly, more like it’s a comfort*

“Sit up,” she instructs. 

*he does*one forearm rests against his middle, which is making some unsettling noises*his face is an ashy color that she’s not sure if she’s ever seen on a human*humans came in so many different tones but a healthy human did not have that greyish tinge*he watches with glassy eyes as she strips off her wrist armor and gloves*she curls her long fingers around his forehead, unsure if she’s doing it right*

“You feel warmer than you should,” she decides after a long moment. 

“Figures,” he mutters, closing his eyes.

*she does not move back again*he’s sort of sagging into her hand*it’s comical—her hand could cradle his entire head*they knew that they were moving into the unknown, her and his father, when they found out she was pregnant*there is no such thing as normal expectations when your growing baby is mixed-species and the first of its kind*they didn’t know if it would make it to birth, let alone to maturation*though she always thought he would grow to be… well, larger than this*

And then he’s shooting away, the knife in his hand hitting the wall with a clank as he braces himself to vomit. 

*


	7. Punk Shallura

Idea:

Human AU. Shiro is a quiet, clean-cut military man who sometimes just YELLS at stupid COs, and Allura is a scruffy punk kid (maybe in a band–holy shit she’d be so hot as a singer???) who is like, secretly really good at embroidery and they like fucking CRASH into each other one day.

Notes:

I made this before it was canon that Shiro is gay, so you can either make him bi or make the romance more platonic, haha.

Outline:

shiro goes to a bar/club one day to cool off after getting his ass in trouble and BAM there’s allura, on the shitty little stage, doing requests and somebody asks her to do ‘so what’ by P!nk and she just fucking BELTS it out and shiro is just like Hot Damn??? how do function???

it takes them a while to hit it off despite the fact that shiro is like insta-smitten because allura takes one look at him and is like ‘this man is the patriarchy personified’ and goes out of her way to make an example of him to all her friends. until the one day they’re all ripping apart the military and shiro is like OH-KAY i can get in trouble for this but let me set some things straight–and then he fucking OBLITERATES the military industrial complex and everyone’s jaw drops

**fluff ending:** shiro compliments allura’s jacket and she tells him that she made it herself, including all the badass stitchery. they have a Cute Ass date together while allura is working on something and shiro is reading, and at the end allura reveals that she made him a lil bandana to tie on his wrist under his uniform and then they Kiss

**angst ending:** shiro compliments allura’s jacket and they make plans for a date, only shiro is dragged into a surprise deployment. they fall out of touch and shiro wonders what happened to her all while he’s deployed… right up until he’s injured, loses his arm, and is sent home. suddenly he feels like even if she had wanted him before, she certainly wouldn’t now… he tries to put her out of his mind. he tries to heal alone but it’s not working out that great–he hates the uniform more and more every day and just wants to erase it from his past. but alas! he cannot! eventually he gets a new job and everything starts looking up, but he still has to wear his uniform to go to functions and events and, that one time, to accept the award the military has for him for getting his arm blown off. he’s contemplating not going… until one of his buddies tells him that someone was asking about him (wink wink). said buddy gets shiro and the mystery someone together one day for coffee and lo and behold! it’s allura! they click so beautifully it’s like he never left. she spends the night and after he falls asleep, she steals his uniform jacket and leaves. as soon as she gets home, she starts working with it, using all these beautiful threads to stitch something on it.

the next day, shiro is in a panic because the girl is gone, his uniform is gone, and he has a ceremony he’s supposed to show to??? he can’t actually skip out on this??? but he can’t go without his damn uniform, that’s like going naked??? he manages to borrrow a uniform and he’s hoping no one notices and he’s literally walking up the steps of the place when allura catches up to him, sleep-deprived and grinning, clutching his jacket. “you don’t have to wear it” she tells him, and shows him the giant fucking middle finger that’s sewn on the back. it’s the most beautiful FU shiro has ever seen.

he wears the jacket.

**ultimate ending:** the fluff ending is what shiro dreams about in the hospital, before the reader realizes that that’s not the true timeline. then he wakes up and it’s the angst ending.


	8. Coran and the Vlog

Idea:

Coran overhears the end of Keith's vlog and goes to comfort him.

Draft:

“Get me out of here!”

Coran hears the shout and stops short, listening as a string of more angry words flow out of the doorway. 

He’s been hanging around, trying to be inconspicuous but nearby just in case of technical failure, but he is pretty sure this… isn’t that. 

‘This’, he knows, is something he’ll be lucky to fix.

About two seconds later, there’s a crash indicating the recording equipment taking a dive and a whirlwind of red and white pushes out the door, followed by a flurry of white and blue.

*


	9. Galra Heith

Idea:

Hunk and Keith are both galra, and have just defected from the galra army (Hunk was a gunman and Keith was infantry) and gone to the blades'/voltron's side.

Outline/draft bit (this is probably somewhere later on, after they defect):

*keith feeling like he needs to be punished*needs to hurt because he failed on some mission*leaving the castle when it’s docked and going to a settlement*looking for a fight*

*getting it*not fighting back*until shiro and hunk find him*and hunk takes care of him and holds him*

Hunk: “You don’t deserve this. You don’t deserve any of this. You are _good_.”


	10. S6 Sheith Healing

Idea:

A fic about Keith and Shiro both coming to terms with what happened at the clone facility and Shiro coming back to life, etc, and healing.

Notes:

Shiro relearning his body, the clone body

Coming to terms with his right arm, or what’s left of it

Knowing that his hand left the mark on keith’s face

Knowing that this body was once an instrument of haggars

Though his own was, as well

But he’s beyond both now

He was once one with the black lion

*

…keith coming down from adrenaline after the clone facility, and the pain hits from the burn wound on his face

Worn out, so tired

Emotionally drained, and drained from the black lion

He’s so tired but everything hurts

So bad

He breathes and the skin of his face pulls and it HURTS

*

*keith mourning all the other clones that died at the facility*

*alternating POV, bouncing from keith to shiro*

Draft (starting with Shiro's POV)(sorry this is a mess):

There is nothing like coming out of the astral plane after months as something incorporeal.

*

There is nothing like knowing that home is both in your hands and beyond the horizon.

*

It’s overwhelming, at first. And then, as fatigue vibrates through your system and quintessence takes its final toll, it becomes excruciating. Molecules just recently slotted in place, rubbing against pieces of a soul that are from the same mold but with imperfections so slightly different that they *.

*

It’s exhilarating, at first. And then, when the effervescent pulse of adrenaline starts to die and the high comes down, it becomes *.


	11. Post War

Idea:

before the war, keith was the problem child of the desert hermit who became a hermit himself. Before the war, shiro was the garrison golden boy who became the sole heir of the shirogane name. before the war, lance was the youngest of a brood of five fighting for attention. Before the war, hunk was the village boy grounded in every way imaginable. Before the war, pidge was a rising rocket, destined to shoot to the stars on the trail her family forged. after? After the war? Well… they’re still figuring that out

Notes: 

I wrote this with Klance in mind.

Draft bits (they're being interviewed by some alien news outlet):

“Wow you… how old are you, developmentally?”

If he hadn’t heard a thousand other, more personally invasive question since leaving earth, Keith would be offended. Instead he tries to hide his laughter as Lance sputters a moment. “I’m an adult, if that’s what you’re asking? Like, of-age. Definitely of-age,” Lance says, unsure, as the rest of the team groans a little.

“Well, yes, but… forgive me, you just look so… young. I wasn’t sure if it was a species thing, maybe.”

“Oh. Well, I suppose we are young?” Lance looks around at the rest of them, looking for help. Shiro has a furrow in his brow. Keith shrugs a little. “What exactly are you concerned about?” he finally asks.

The woman goes quiet for a moment. Then, blunt, she says, “I didn’t realize the Paladins of Voltron were children. I don’t think many people did.”

*talking to reporters and writers who are trying to compile a biography of Voltron*

*lance hanging off of Keith, talking to them* until one of them mentions how Keith ‘used to be’ and Keith looks suspiciously at lance*

“What the fuck did you say to them?”

“Oh, nothing. Just uh… just talked about some of your emotional issues and how I helped you get over them?”

*keith storms off*

*later*

“Babe. Babe, please, I didn’t say it in those words. I was more eloquent about it. I was talking you up!”

“Whatever.”

*

“I don’t want to do this anymore. We did all the fighting, can’t someone else do the speeches? I’m _tired_.”


	12. Canon-Divergence

Idea:

Basically when Keith undergoes his trial at the blade base, the blades' suit malfunctions and Keith dreams that everything in canon from that point up until Naxela happens. He wakes up after the trial and realizes that none of it was real (...or was it?).

Notes:

A way to scrap canon and rewrite it as a canon-divergence fic. I had a few ideas about how I wanted it to go after that, but nothing really concrete.

Trans Keith, because I love trans Keith.

Outline:

*all of seasons 3 and 4 were in his head*

*the red lion breaking them out of the blade base*keith passed out*the red lion takes them home and they put him in a pod*

*he wakes up and stumbles out of the pod and he’s all disoriented* and shiro is like ‘we don’t have to tell everyone you’re galra until you’re ready* and he’s like what*the last thing he remembers is naxela*

*and he’s talking to the team about how he’s afraid of losing them* and he talks to lance/allura/hunk about how they were growing together and how he really wants that* and then iT GETS BETTER*

*except he sometimes doesn’t know what’s real or what he imagined*and he’s convinced that some of the things he dreamed are going to come true anyway*

*and sometimes he fucks things up because he can’t remember*

*and the blade is an ominous presence*

Draft:

The list, when he sits down to write it later, will feel like a list of his own nightmares.

It will start with literally becoming the enemy. It will go something like this:

  1. Come out to the team as part Galra.
  2. Make friends with Galra General—later get ass kicked for showing kindness.
  3. Win fight against Zarkon… at the cost of Shiro.
  4. Be completely overwhelmed as headless empire continues to wreak havoc.
  5. Get told in no uncertain terms to Let Shiro Go and replace him as Black Paladin.
  6. Get ass kicked (for showing kindness) by Better, Smarter, and Faster opponents.
  7. Be terrible leader, tear the team apart.
  8. Get Shiro back, only… different.
  9. Be forced away from the team, into Blade operations that cause death all around him, constantly.
  10. Watch as Voltron is faced with giant fucking planet-sized bomb.
  11. See that the only option… after all of this… is to sacrifice himself.



He’ll be pretty sure that more was coming—something else managed to destroy the ship he was aiming to smash himself to pieces on—but that’s when he woke up, disoriented to hell and back, to Shiro in front of him asking desperately if he could hear him, talking to someone beside them about possible adverse effects from the Trial… which, according to them, happened less than a week ago.

On some level, it makes sense that none of those things actually happened. It makes sense that at the Blade’s base, the Red Lion fought so hard to get to him that she literally tore the roof off the facility where the trials took place and scooped him and Shiro up like they were naughty, misbehaving children. It makes sense that she took them home, recklessly driving herself through the solar storm surrounding the base because he was lying on the floor of the cockpit, bleeding underneath the suit, still unconscious. It makes sense that they made it back to the castle with Blade fighters on their tail; that they couldn’t even change him out of the suit before they had to put him in a pod because he was battered that badly; that coming to shivering on the floor of the medbay, half-stripped and cold to his bones as they executed their third wormhole jump to evade the Blade’s operatives, was literally like waking up from a year-long dream.

It makes sense. It does. That doesn’t stop him from shaking, right here and right now, coming down from an adrenaline surge because the dream just seemed so… real. God, it was so real…

“Are you okay? Please, buddy, I need to hear your voice,” Shiro is saying. He, Coran, and Hunk are all kneeling before him, Shiro with his hands on Keith’s shoulders, trying to hold him steady. Shiro is getting more and more insistent by the second—he asked a question about an eternity ago and Keith hasn’t responded. Keith would feel bad, except his body doesn’t want to be vertical at all right now. Being upright feels like holding up a mountain. He’s not sure when Hunk appeared. Sometime after Shiro started asking him about spilling the Galra-knife beans, that’s for sure, but before he lost his footing and collapsed on the floor. Time feels muddy. Nothing feels real. Was anything real? Maybe he’s still dreaming. Maybe he was always dreaming. Maybe it’s never been real. It sure doesn’t feel real… nothing feels real, except the controls of the ship that were under his hands just seconds ago.

Hunk is starting to kick into panic mode. “Shiro, I don’t think unresponsive is a good thing, I think we need to put him back in the pod or something. They probably drugged him up super bad. What if he dies? What if he’s dying? Oh god oh god oh god—”

Keith wants it on record that he made an effort, even though his slurring words sound more like sludge than actual communication. His second attempt goes a little smoother, but it’s still hit or miss, and judging by Shiro’s stricken expression, it’s more miss than hit. It’s like there’s something that doesn’t want him to be awake right now, dragging him by the hair back into unconsciousness. He raises a hand that doesn’t seem to attach to his body and paws at the neck of the suit he’s wearing, rubbery fingers scrabbling at a node on his neck. He can’t collect enough wits about himself to understand why that is. He’s so tired… the world is swimming.

He’s this close to going completely under when Shiro suddenly lunges for him, scrambling to strip him of the suit. When he doesn’t find the funny little catch on the back of the neck, he resorts to hacking at it with his metal fingers. Two seconds later, Keith is gasping air like he just came up from a pool of tepid water, sensations flooding in. 

*keith talking to coran* “This is a stupid question but… have you ever made instructional videos?”

*eating, resting, and then getting chewed out by a very worried allura*lance saying I told you so*

“A trial of blood? That’s barbaric! What in the universe convinced you that such a thing was a good idea?!”


	13. Mistrial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW major character injury, blood, etc.

Idea:

During Keith's blade trial, when he's struck in the shoulder, it is just a liiiittle more serious. This is whump.

Notes:

-there are at least two druids who defected from haggar who are now blades. they can still do their druid magic stuff tho. 

Outline (this is a mess, sorry):

*before the trial, keith changing into the suit and fumbling with his binder, trying to figure out what to do with/about it*the blades being silent and watching him closely*until one asks about it*keith brushes them off*

*shiro POV, shiro shielding him as he changes, Kolivan asking questions of Shiro even after Keith is getting into place for the trials*

-It starts off bad from the beginning

-The very first hit is a bad one

-That slice to his shoulder is a little bit closer to his neck and it’s a little too deep and suddenly he can’t feel that arm

-It still moves when he tells it to but he’s getting no feedback

-He’s off-kilter

-Shiro’s already demanding they call it off

“It’s just begun, Paladin.”

-Keith can manage just as well with the other hand, so he puts his knife there, keeps going

-Shiro’s still in the bg, worrying, “He doesn’t stop, Kolivan, you’ve got to listen to me—if he dies—“

“Regrettable, I’m sure. It can’t be easy to find paladins.”

-Shiro sucks in a breath, bites his tongue

-Keith is bleeding. All down his arm. 

-They keep coming.

-He swings and his arm arcs after his knife-hand, his blood splatters on the marmorite’s mask

-Rumbling. The base is starting to shake. Shiro braces his hand next to the screen and his face goes blank. He watches the screen—red looks through his eyes

-Kolivan watches him silently, until Antok snaps. “Spit it out, Paladin!”

Shiro jolts. “It’s the red lion. She’s getting antsy.”

“No matter. The trial ends when the trial ends.”

“No, not no matter. Do you understand what Voltron is?”

“Yes.”

“Look me in the face—no, LOOK AT ME. Keith and red: they are the same! Keith won’t _stop_! When he’s in danger, serious danger, red becomes a nightmare. She will dig out this base with her bare claws before tearing through you to reach him. Do you understand?”

“…We will see.”

-Shiro throws up his hands, focuses on red’s energy. 

-meanwhile Keith is… trembling. He’s starting to get desperate.

“Not the door… there’s something else, I… what is it? C’mon, Keith, COME ON! Patience yields…”

-Then it comes to him—the fighters come from somewhere else. He just has to get where they’re coming from.

-Not a moment too soon. His knees are buckling, he’s starting to see double, he’s leaving a trail of blood back and forth across the arena.

-He makes a run for it, he’s raising his good hand as he goes to hurl the knife and—

-The moment he realizes he’s too late, the red lion ROARS.

Shiro yells. “Get him out of there, NOW!”

“No,” Kolivan says. “Not until—“

-And then, right on screen, Shiro see’s a fighter swing behind Keith, grab his wrist

-They haven’t been trying to kill him, just deter him, always stopping their hand with the threat obvious

-The sword at his throat

-But something happens and the sword is suddenly inside him

-They can’t tell if he moved, or if that particular Blade just didn’t care

-Shiro falls to his knees

-Everything goes still. No tremors, no sound, Keith is silent on the speakers.

-Kolivan slowly reaches for the controls, turns the screen off. “It is over. The issue is resolved. We’ll talk with you, Black Paladin, if you so choose—you are a leader worthy of—“

-And then red makes a noise that rattles the entire asteroid. The roof starts raining down. Shiro, dazed, cries out. Alarms blare. The marmorites start moving, underlings coming up to Kolivan, who is turning to Shiro.

“Turn it back on!”

“Subdue your beast!”

“No! TURN IT BACK ON!”

-Shiro knocks Kolivan away and slams his galra hand on the controls. The screen lights up again.

-Keith is… on his feet. A sword through his chest, one arm hanging limp, his little knife lodged in the ribcage of the marmorite who stabbed him. He jerks back, dislodges it. Stumbles a step. Raises his injured hand in front of his face as if he’s seeing a ghost, then slowly wraps it around the blade protruding from him. His breathing is so shallow, but he winces with every hitch. His fingers slide on the blade until he clamps down, and it bites into them.

-The building is falling. Kolivan’s mask is unreadable, but he hasn’t moved in some time, facing the screen. Shiro, on instinct, grabs him and shoves them both out of the way just before the ceiling of that room caves.

-The walls crack. Shiro is moving almost on autopilot, but Kolivan grabs him by the arm and pulls him in the right direction. Toward the epicenter, where metal is grinding and screeching on metal. 

-Red’s claws are almost through the ceiling here. She’s making these aborted noises, yowls of desperation. Shiro ducks, covers his head as metal comes down. He can see a vague figure through the dust and debris.

-He slams into Keith, and Keith’s locked knees give out. He’s going down. Shiro cradles him, trying to hold him around the sword. It’s flickering, like it wants to shrink back down to knife form but hasn’t yet. Kolivan goes to follow, but that’s when red gets through.

-She crams her entire upper body into the room and ROARS again. She curls around Shiro and Keith, defensive, and Kolivan is SHOOK. He’s forced back as Shiro bundles Keith up and hauls him up into the red lion. He lost his grip on his knife somewhere. The blade in his chest flickers again and then shrinks, and it slides out of the wound and clatters to the floor.

-Silence inside as Red pauses. The building, what’s left, stills. Shiro is busy pressing against Keith’s chest. Too much blood.

“He’s not going to make it, Red, we don’t… we don’t have enough, we need help—“

-He feels her shift under him, her huge paws coming down on either side of Kolivan, who is rooted to the spot. She opens her jaws as wide as she can, not inviting him, but opening a line between him and Shiro

-Shiro jerks around, holding Keith close. He’s already covered in blood. “Please! Oh god, please help him, you have to have medical supplies here, he’s my brother, he’s my brother and he’s going to—“ and the realization hits Shiro.

-Red lowers her head to the floor

-Keith has been trying to get his attention, though. Shiro leans down close. “Oh god, oh god, what is it? Please don’t let it be a joke, I take back every time I—“

“I…I’m sorry…” gasp “shiro I” gasp “I didn’t mean” gasp “mean to… I”

“Shhhhhh, shhhhh, stop trying to talk, I understand”

-Forehead touch

-Keith is going still

-And then Shiro and Keith both are lifted, with such a gentle touch

-It’s kolivan, holding them both in his arms, Keith clutched in Shiro’s grip

-He starts walking, reaches the ramp—Red growls, but he just pauses, adjusts them in his arms to give her wall a quick pat, and goes down

-Most of the marmites have gathered, silent

“Mardek, get ready for a healing! Antok, the blade.”

-A marmorite runs out, and then Antok steps forward, scoops up the knife from the floor. Kolivan just walks.

-Shiro is just reveling in each teeny gasp that Keith makes against his chest, not daring to let himself think more than two seconds ahead, he adjusts his arms so that Keith’s limp head is closer to his neck, tucked as close as he can get him

-They are taken to a druid’s room

-Shiro immediately writhes, trying to pull Keith away, but Kolivan just sets them down in the middle

“He’ll stay with you. We… we will work.”

-Shiro clutches Keith. This is his worst nightmare. He’s terrified. The only relief he has is that if things go south, at least he’ll be holding onto Keith

-So he holds as the druids start moving, masks morphing

_Cut_

-The room is quiet, exhausted

-The druids, two of them, are crumpled heaps in the corners

-Shiro would think about how human they seem like that

-Except he’s too busy clutching Keith

-Keith, who is the right color again, asleep in his arms, his chest moving up and down with slow, deep breaths

-Kolivan approaches

“You may… you may leave, now.”

“His knife?” Shiro manages to ask, because it meant so much to Keith

“It is still one of our blades. He failed to awaken it. But… someday… I think he should try again.”

-Antok, in the corner, visibly bristles, but Kolivan waves him off and speaks to everyone listening

“Though he has issued a challenge by holding a blade, a paladin should not be held to our rules. A paladin of Voltron, a paladin who is pure, who is bonded with a lion such as She, should create their own rules. The might of the lions greatly surpasses our own. They are the one hope we have of seeing Zarkon’s demise with our own eyes—and I would like to see it.” Sadness in his eyes. “For the Red Paladin, we make a new offer.”

-Shiro stares at him as he kneels down to their level

“Come back. Teach us… something new. Teach us what Voltron stands for.”

“Why?”

“Because what we have is only what Zarkon has left us. It is too hard to see the gaps, until it’s too late to fill them.”

-Bonding moment between Shiro and Kolivan

-And Keith starts waking up

“Wow… did I make it?”

-Shiro laughs “No, but not for lack of trying. Come on, it’s time to go home.”

“Wait, but—“

“They said you can try again later.”

“They did?” Keith looking suspicious

-Shiro just hugs him


	14. S8 Fix-It Idea

Idea:

allura should have just walked out of a field at lance’s farm like ten years later, looking no different than the day she died, absolutely no explanation except that the universe wasn’t right until she was back in her place

the show had cosmic entities... like bob... it wouldn’t have been even that much of a stretch


	15. Unwind AU

Idea:

Unwind, but make it Voltron.

Notes:

*shiro helps someone like sonia in the underground, helping get kids to the airplane graveyard with iverson*helping keith*strong bond, unbreakable*

*keith meets up with the other voltron kids at some point*


	16. Dream Sequence

Idea:

Just a weird-ass Paladin adventure based on some dreams I had.

Outline:

*Shiro POV*he and the paladins are trapped on some planet*it’s been so long and the food is probably messing with their heads a bit*making it seem like they’ve been there forever*

*passing through a ‘desert’*made of huge joshua trees and sage foliage all packed tight together*struggling through*past the corpses of cactus creatures*like cholla wood and stickered skin*some small and some HUGE*like pterodactyls and things that look almost like sea creatures*the desert used to be an ocean, didn’t you know*

*almost reaching the end of the desert jungle*finding aliens*living aliens*finally*asking for help*

*they say the end of their journey is at the far end of the desert*pointing off into the distance*where the jungle ends and the true desert begins*

“ _That_ _’s_ the desert?”

“It’s all desert. Just much more compact.”

*all the desert plants are turning into dust, into dunes*

*welp*they need to get through there*asking for help*the aliens give them one water container a piece*a gourd full of water*and then they sing to them*to give them strength and perseverance*

*going into the desert*

*dunes turning into ice*and there are more singing aliens*the paladins look up and the skies are rolling*columns of cloud slowly descending toward the planet’s surface*snow drifting inside of them like fish behind glass*and the aliens back away from them*but the paladins watch closer*until with a mighty CRASH an icicle the size of a skyscraper comes down*colliding with the icy tundra point down*and then another, and another*they quiver and crack and then _timber_ *falling to the ice*one stays upright*

*something*

*lion crashing to the surface of the planet*falling through the ice*

*ice breaking up*uh oh*


	17. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

Idea:

TGGTVAV, but make it Voltron.

Notes:

Option one:

*klance, lance is monty and keith is percy*pidge is felicity*

Option two:

*shatt, matt is monty and shiro is percy*


	18. The Sight

Idea:

...what if the paladins of Voltron came home and found out the world was overrun by supernatural beings and fae and stuff and they’re super freaked out but then they realize that exposure to the lions of Voltron has actually just given them the Sight and they’re finally able to see all the beings that have been on earth all along how cool would that be


End file.
